My husband Joel and I were married for almost one year when we packed our backpacks and hopped on the plane to Australia from the Netherlands. We were ready for a new adventure, not knowing what that would bring us.
My husband quit his job, I just finished university, we gave up our apartment, sold our furniture and our car, and we left for Australia. It was so hard to leave everything behind, but it was also one of the best decisions we have made!
Learning to Dream Together
We both loved our time here. It was a very unique opportunity to spend five and a half months focusing on God, our identity, our calling, and being in this journey together. Next to gaining new revelations and personally deepening our relationship with God, we were able to do self-reflections together, to figure out our calling as a couple, and to dream together.
Serving the same purpose, but in different roles
During our outreach in Papua New Guinea, we were able to serve alongside each other in our individual giftings. Even though we have very different personalities, interests, and talents, we were able to both contribute toward the same vision and mission.
I helped deliver health teachings to children in villages.
Joel is a marine engineer and was able to help fix water tanks in villages.
Learning to be intentional about investing in our marriage
We had to find our way in balancing our time together and our time in the community, learning through trial-and-error.
We also had to be intentional about investing in each other and our marriage and not just focus on individual growth.
Even though we have been together for six years and our relationship was quite strong already, we deepened our relationship even more during DTS. We built spiritual intimacy as we invested in our relationship with God and we learned how to walk in our individual calling as well as our mutual commitment to serving others.
I am really grateful for having the opportunity to share my DTS experience with the person I love the most. I believe that doing a DTS together really helped build a strong foundation for our future.
Are you joining us for a DTS as a married couple soon? Read Tamara’s top five tips for doing a DTS as a married couple.
Tamara Bal
Tamara did a DTS with us in 2019 with her husband, Joel. Tamara is from the Netherlands and enjoys good coffee, spending time with friends, and is always seeking for more inspiration to create a cosy home.
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